Isle of Skye 12 Year

Not bad at all! Ended up getting it for $32 due to some confusion, finagling and some class by the seller, but still under retail and still happy about it. Aroma is brown sugar and raisins, some vanilla, marshmallows and wisps of oak. Taste is sweet initially and follows the nose. Medium bodied, being pleasant for a blend, then lingering for a while from its oily nature. Finishes a bit spicy and peaty, but with a slight off note that I can only guess is due to it either being a blend, a $32 bottle or both. Nothing that stops me from enjoying though. Might even disappear as I let the bottle breath. All in all, it won't wow anyone, but it certainly won't piss them off. Well worth the money spent!

The color is a nice, autumn sunset of reddish and golden hues and I don't get much on the nose other than cinnamon, oak and a hint of (maybe) nutmeg. It doesn't smell bad or harsh, but I guess you could say that about most blended whisky. It starts off pleasant enough on the tongue, but a strange tinnish metallic bite takes over that abruptly ends anything good that should've come from this juice. There's an artificial cinnamon flavor that helps wash the tin away, but something about it does taste artificial- too sweet, perhaps. Almost like cinnamon imperial candies. The finish is quick and quite harsh for an aged, blended whisky. There's nothing really refined among the base whiskies uses for this blend, I think, and that's the biggest downfall here IMO. Better quality base products would easily bring this up a bit, maybe to Johnnie Walker Red level. I don't get much, if any, smoke either so there's nothing redeeming here. Maybe it would work better mixed with cola or ginger ale to spice it up and hide the tin metal harshness. Not a whisky for sipping neat for sure. If it's cheap then that's it's calling card- mix it up and tie on a buzz. That's it's purpose in life I suppose. Moving along...